A Comprehensive Guide To The Essay Format APA

If you have a college academic essay to write, one of the most crucial things you have to know is the writing format. APA (American Psychological Association) style is among the most common writing formats used in social sciences. The APA format also happens to be one of the most difficult and students have a hard time getting it right. To avoid any problems with your paper, it is advisable to learn everything about this writing style which you will no doubt have to use in college. This article highlights the most important points to remember about the APA style to ensure your paper meets the highest standards required by the department. Keep reading.

Basic Essay Components

The most crucial paper in any APA essay are:

The Title Page: Include the title of the paper, the author's name, and your institution

The Abstract: Add a page header and add a concise summary of the key points of your research. Include the research topic, research questions, participants in your study, methodology, results, data analysis, and conclusions

The actual essay: This section contains the material of your essay including introduction body and conclusion.

The Reference List: The research essay format APA requires citations and a reference list at the end containing all materials used.

Running head: each page must have a heading, written on the top. The best title is a shorter version of the general title of your paper.

For each of the sections, make sure you insert a page break to make your paper neat and easy to read.

Font Use

For the academic essay format APA, you must use a uniform font throughout your paper. The recommended font, in this case, is default font is Times New Roman, size 12 with a smaller size for footnotes.

Space Use

For the entire APA paper, you should double-space and this is not a big problem when using MS Word or any document making software.

Margins Use

Use 1-inch margins on all sides. Indent the first word of each paragraph in your paper by one-half inch.

In-Text References

For the essay paper format APA, you must include citations for any works you refer. Some of the main points to consider for APA in-text citation include:

Capitalization of the author’s name and initial

Capitalization of the title of the source

For titles of lengthier sources including documentaries, songs or TV shows, publications, films, underline the citation or use italics

For quotes, add the author’s last name and date of publication in parenthesis.

Include a Reference Page

At the end of your college essay format APA, you need a reference page with the title “References” centered at the top. Double-space the contents of this page and use a hanging indent for the lines below the first lines of a cited item. Use the author’s last name and first name and ensure the list of reference sis in alphabetical order.

These are the basics of writing a paper in APA format. If you are stuck, go online and read an APA format example or find a qualified essay writer to assist you.